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As retail environments go it’s hard to beat TEFAF Maastricht, arguably the world’s most prestigious art fair. In an enormous exhibition hall heaving with Old Masters, modern and contemporary art, antique porcelain, photography and objets d’art, an immaculate art savvy European crowd of thousands wander from stand to stand, perusing and purchasing at impressive speed.

A small and niche collective of jewellers also take space here every year, knowing that the footfall is plentiful and also purposeful – many are willing to buy a Chagall or Henry Moore in one breath, a piece of vintage Belperron or Wallace Chan in the next.

Hemmerle ring in aluminium and platinum with spinel, price on application

Munich based jeweller Hemmerle is right at home here, having exhibited at the fair for the past 20 years. Such is the appeal of its one-off jewels that clients flock to their stand from the moment the fair opens; consequently the Munich workshop works flat out in the run up to the fair to ensure the showcases are brimming with new pieces.

“Twenty-five per cent of what you see here was finished only 14 days ago,” says Christian Hemmerle as he walks me round the stand on the first day.

As is customary with Hemmerle, the pieces are a mix of old materials and new techniques – a purple spinel is nestled in a cage of virtually weightless anodized aluminium to form a ring; 19th century Egyptian micro-mosaics (a favoured theme of the house) are set in copper to form earrings; Italian 18th century cameos are suspended from sand-blasted horn, while a technique only discovered and perfected by the workshops a few weeks ago sees diamonds caught in a ring of bronze wire to form earrings.

“We first set the diamonds in wax, then wrapped the wire around to form the cage and hold them in place, then gently applied heat to melt the wax away,” explains Christian. They are large (over 12 carats of diamonds each) but light and airy. “Someone once told me,” he goes on, “small earrings should be heavy, large earrings should be light”.

Spinel and gold Couronne cuff by Belperron

A few steps away, the Van Cleef & Arpels stand is also buzzing with clients attracted by new pieces but also an impressive selection of heritage gems on display, and for sale.

A large 1940s clip, separable into two tear-drops (one for each lapel) is particularly striking, as is a yellow gold 1970s lion head necklace, its warm tones and chunky aesthetic so evocative of the era.

New pieces include the Liane necklace, first launched by the maison in the 1940s. Its twisted gold chain is adjustable in length (an engineering/haute couture reference in the same vein as Van Cleef’s iconic Zip necklace), while a stretching en pointe ballerina clip is all frothy diamond skirts and perfect dancer arms.

A pair of gorgeously liquid-like rock crystal brooches, recently re-acquired by father and son team Ward and Nico Landrigan sit next to a carved smoky quartz diamond ring and a gold cuff edged with huge cabochons of spinel.

“I want to make another so they can be worn one on each wrist, but stones of that size are so rare and so hard to source,” says Ward Landrigan. “Try anything on you like,” he says, encouraging me to handle the jewellery, and he’s right – the bold organic shapes of Belperron’s aesthetic cry out to be put on.

Lady Delia Spencer on her wedding day in 1914

Similarly at the family run Hancocks London’s stand a few blocks across the exhibition hall, Amy Burton and brother Guy are flitting between cases displaying over 100 pieces.

This year provenance is particularly evident – a delightful diamond and cabochon ruby bracelet that belonged to Shirley Temple and depicts a jazz band in full swing (thought to have been gifted to her by piano makers Steinway) is a highlight, while a diamond tiara belonging to the Spencer family worn by Lady Delia Spencer (great aunt to Princess Diana) on her wedding day in 1914 to Hon.Sidney Peel (grandson of the Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel) attracts numerous enquiries and a scrum of journalists.

A diamond tiara belonging to the Spencer family worn by Lady Delia Spencer

Later I find out that about an hour after I’ve seen it (and halfway through day one of the fair) the tiara is sold; telling proof, if proof ever be needed, that TEFAF is the perfect fit for a small but select group of jewellers.